Tips on How to Buy and Buy Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures



Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while touring the nation. These are the magnificent handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists living in the northern Arctic areas of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at numerous retail shops and displayed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting increasingly more worldwide direct exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian fine art kind at museums and galleries located outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for numerous travelers and art collectors to choose that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as good souvenirs for their homes or as really unique gifts for others. Presuming that the intention is to acquire an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a low-cost tourist imitation, the concern occurs on how does one differentiate the real thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty frustrating to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't genuine or even made in Canada. If one is fortunate enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their wonderful artwork, then it can be securely presumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern store or directly from an Inuit carver would be genuine. One would need to be more careful in other places in Canada, especially in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian keepsakes such as t-shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The safest places to look for Inuit sculptures to make sure credibility are constantly the respectable galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Reliable Inuit art galleries are also noted in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is devoted completely to Inuit art. These galleries will normally be located in the downtown tourist areas of major cities. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art but none of the other usual tourist keepsakes such as tee shirts or postcards . These galleries will have just genuine Inuit art for sale as they do not deal with replicas or phonies . Just to be even much safer, ensure that the piece you have an interest in comes with a Canadian federal government Igloo tag accrediting that it was handmade by a Canadian Inuit artist. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all genuine pieces are signed. Be aware that an anonymous piece might still be undoubtedly authentic.

A few of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you could go shopping and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now trustworthy online galleries that also concentrate on genuine Inuit art. These online galleries are a great choice for buying Inuit art considering that the prices are normally lower than those at street retail galleries because of lower overheads. Of course, like other shopping on the internet, one need to take care so when dealing with an online gallery, make sure that their pieces also feature the official Igloo tags to make sure credibility.

Some tourist stores do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy mementos in order to deal with all types of travelers. When shopping at these kinds of shops, it is possible to differentiate the genuine pieces from the recreations. Authentic Inuit sculpture is sculpted from stone and therefore should have some weight or mass to it. Stone is likewise cold to the touch. A reproduction made from plastic or resin from a mold will be much lighter in weight and will not be cold to the touch. A reproduction will often have a business name on it such as Wolf Originals or Boma and will never include an artist's signature. An genuine Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and absolutely nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it. The piece is not authentic if there are duplicates of a specific piece with specific details. If a piece looks too perfect in detail with outright straight bottoms or sides, it is most likely not real. Obviously, if a piece includes a sticker label suggesting that is was made in an Asian nation, then it is obviously a phony. There will also be a substantial price distinction in between genuine pieces and the replicas.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with genuine Inuit art. If a seller claims that such as piece is authentic, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have details on the artist, place where it was made and the find more information year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying official Igloo tags will constantly be the highest priced and are usually kept in a different ( possibly even locked) shelf within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more global exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their fantastic artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a regional northern shop or directly from an Inuit carver would be authentic. Reputable Inuit art galleries are likewise noted in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries likewise have websites so you might shop and buy genuine Inuit art sculpture from house anywhere in the world.

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